Now, to the post itself.. Hope you enjoy reading this post from Tom and join us (yes, I am speaking as well) at the Authority Summit slated for later this month.

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$689.25

That’s the amount of money I made from my business in January of 2015.

This is money after expenses and overhead, but still…

That’s barely enough money to cover rent in most major cities in the USA.

Flash forward one year, to February of 2016, and my company just cleared $30,000, and the trend seems to be increasing.

I don’t say this to brag.

There are MANY more successful business people who make a lot more money than me throughout the world.

I share this story to highlight the difference between then and now; between where I was, and where I desperately wanted to be; going from struggling to survive, to now leading a thriving, growing company…

This transformation was not by any accident, luck, or chance.

This transformation was a result of intentional effort put forth in five key areas of business and personal development, that have since changed my entire live.

I want to share them with you now, so they can do the same for you…

Enter: The Five Pillars of Authority

Reflecting on the past year, it’s become clear to me that the brightest, most successful business people in the world excel in 5 foundational areas of business.

I call these the “The Five Pillars Authority.”

To be clear: each one is a prerequisite to achieve the results you desire; you cannot succeed (for long) without mastering each.

I want to introduce you to each pillar, and explain how to apply it to your business…

Pillar 1. Mindset

You wouldn’t build a house without preparing the foundation first, would you?

Of course not.

Similarly, you wouldn’t set out to build a profitable business without having a stable base to launch from…

The FOUNDation for any business is the mindset of the FOUNDer (founder / foundation – get it?)

Like a house built on sand, a business led by a confused, uncertain, and weak founder will crumble

However, like a house built from concrete and steel, a founder with the right MINDSET can withstand the most difficult storms.

(and in business, there will be storms – trust me)

Before you do ANYTHING, you have to master your MINDSET.

This involves…

Overcoming your limiting-beliefs and self-sabotaging behaviors

Having a strong, clear goal

Outlining what you’re going to do, WHY, and when (and holding yourself accountable to making progress each day)

Consistently investing in your education, whether through books and courses, coaches and mentors or by joining an empowering mastermind with people you respect

Having the right Mindset is critical for the success of any freelancer, entrepreneur or business owner…

But it’s not enough.

You then need to take ACTION…

Pillar 2. Content

Bob Ross is one of the most celebrated, most respected, most beloved painters of all time.

Bring his name up in conversation, and anyone who has watched him paint happy little trees will smile ear-to-ear.

There’s good reason for Bob’s cult-like following: for over 10 years, Ross gave away all his knowledge about painting, teaching everything he knew for free on PBS.

Oh, and did I mention that this soft-spoken, hippy painter built a $15,000,000.00 business on the back of his free training?

This is what I mean when I say: CONTENT.

Bob was a great painter, but so what?

There are tens of thousands of great painters.

You won’t hear about 99% of them.

What made Bob stand out from the crowd was that HE CREATED GREAT CONTENT prolifically – and he gave it all away for free.

Content doesn’t have to come in the form of a weekly television show.

Content can take the shape of:

A blog where you consistently share your best “lessons learned”…

A book that shows you systems, processes, and thought process…

A YouTube channel where you share your best tactics and strategies…

A daily podcast where you share insight, wisdom, and direction with those who are seeking help…

There are more ways than ever to cheaply and effectively share your knowledge with the world, and the greatest AUTHORITIES do just that…

But having great content isn’t enough.

A great piece of writing that doesn’t leave your hard drive is as useful as NO content…

This brings us to…

Pillar 3. Distribution

Reid Hoffman is a venture capitalist, previously the executive vice president of Paypal, and the founder of LinkedIn (and also a $4 billionaire…).

When asked by TechCrunch how to reach a massive audience, Reid had these words of wisdom:

“In real estate, the wisdom says ‘location, location, location.’ In consumer Internet, think ‘distribution, distribution, distribution.’ Thousands of products launched every month on hundreds of thousands of new Web pages…Every Net entrepreneur should answer these questions: How do we get to one million users? Then how do we get to 10 million users? Then how will you get deep engagement by your users.”

Okay, so let’s assume you’re not building the next LinkedIn or Uber or Facebook…

A million users may not be your first milestone, and that’s okay (and totally reasonable).

When you can answer this question clearly, you’ve started to define your DISTRIBUTION strategy.

To develop your position as an AUTHORITY through DISTRIBUTION, you must have

A cost-effective way to attract visitors to your website…

An automated solution for turning visitors into users, fans, and ultimately customers…

An eCommerce solution to sell your product or service ( one that aligns with how your customers want to pay for goods or services)…

Systems and processes to make selling 1,000 items as easy as selling 1 item…

All of these elements are key to creating awareness and consumption of your CONTENT so that you can create a thriving business…

But that only happens if you can turn customers into REPEAT customers and raving fans.

To do that, we move to pillar 4….

Pillar 4. Platform

Ever heard of Freaks and Geeks?

Many critics regard it as one of the greatest television shows of all the time.

But after its first season, it got canceled.

Why?

Because it was aired at an ungodly hour, it received low-ratings and the network canceled it.

It was never able to get the audience it deserved.

Bottom line: You can have the greatest CONTENT in the world, but if not enough people SPREAD THE WORD, it doesn’t matter.

To become an Authority, then, you need:

An area to share your best content…

A space to engage and connect with your fans…

And a place from which to catalyse their support (so that your best content doesn’t get canceled after one season)

What I’m talking about is called a PLATFORM.

Every AUTHORITY has a platform where they share their great work, a place for their biggest fans to interact with one another, and a space from which to instigate the support of their biggest fans (when the time comes…).

A platform can take the form of:

A compelling email newsletter

An active and engaged Facebook Group

An online forum or offline meet-up group

A website with an exclusive members area

Whatever the format, the bottom line is that a PLATFORM allows you to build and then catalyse your thousand true fans, who will then support every piece of great CONTENT you have (from sharing blog posts, to downloading and reviewing your podcast, to purchasing every product you create).

A PLATFORM is where you begin to set yourself apart from your competitors, but even the most enthusiastic fans can’t help your cause if you aren’t presenting, packaging, and selling your products or services the right way.

That brings us to…

5. Positioning

Why is it that people happily pay $2,000 for an iMac, when they could get a PC with equivalent specs for almost half the cost?

Does the iMac cost twice as much to produce?

Nope – if anything, Apple can produce the iMac for less than its competitors…

Are the components unique?

Not really – the internal parts are all produced by the same manufacturers…

Does it do something completely different than the competitor?

No, PCs and Macs basically do the same tasks…

So what is it?

If you’re an Apple fan, you know the answer…

It’s the experience

From the packaging to the design, to the presentation; Apple knows how to create, market, and sell products.And all of these elements taken together are POSITIONING.

Here’s the thing: positioning is not solely for massive corporations.

It’s equally (if not more) important for entrepreneurs, freelancers, startup founders, and aspiring small business owners.

With the right positioning, you can:

Become THE person everyone wants to do business…

Charge PREMIUM rates as an independent contractor…

Choose whom YOU do business with, when, and how…

Get featured in major mainstream media…

And more…

It’s tough to achieve this enviable level.

But it is possible.

The Opportunity of a Lifetime

Mastering each pillar ordinarily takes years of trial-and-error experience.

Fortunately, there’s a way you can shave YEARS off your learning curve, and that’s by learning from the wisdom of people who have BEEN IN YOUR SHOES and who have become successful authorities.

On March 22, Josh Denning and I (Tom Morkes) are co-hosting a 3-day live, virtual, Guinness World Record Breaking extravaganza called: